Comments on: I NEVER thought it could happen to me: Head Lice!

By: Donna Rahab

Donna Rahab — Thu, 13 May 2010 07:11:01 +0000

Thanks for your comments. Thanks for your ideas about how to get rid of lice. How do I prevent myself and daughter from getting lice?

By: Cherie

Cherie — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 20:28:08 +0000

Hi Raya,

Wow, I’m SO sorry to hear of your daughter’s episode.

The way to tell the difference between lint, lice eggs and even the hair bulbs at the end of shed hair strands (which some people sometimes mistakenly think are lice nits) is this:
lint will come off relatively easy; the hair bulbs are found only at one end of the hair strand…at the very tip; nits/lice eggs are usually somewhat oval in shape, pearl-colored, found along the hair shaft but not necessarily at the very tip as with the hair bulbs from shedding and…they are not easy to remove just by using fingertips but would have to be pulled off with your nails to be removed.

By: Raya Trent

Raya Trent — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 20:13:04 +0000

My 7 yr/old daughter has sister locs. Two weeks ago we discovered what seemed to be a mild/early infestation since we only found about 5 or 6 live bugs. We washed with RID, which killed everything moving, and waited the initial 8-10 days. After that time nothing seemed to hatch so we thought we were in the clear. I continued to inspect her hair several times daily, and there was no evidence of any problems until today when I discovered live bugs in her hair again. Apparently sometimes the incubation period takes two weeks rather than one, which I didn’t realize.

I also have locs and never came down with lice. For some reason I’m not so concerned about my own hair because I’ve shared the same intimate space with my daughter before and since the infestation with no problem. But her live-in caregiver has very thick traditional locs that she has been growing for 5+ years and is nervous about getting lice and being forced to shave her head.

To make matters worse, I am leaving on an 8-day tour abroad tomorrow, so I don’t have time to do much other than a RID shampoo treatment plus whatever home-remedies I can scare up on the internet. I’ve doused her hair in olive oil and covered it with a plastic shower cap, but I don’t know how I can possibly remove the nits when they seem to be identical to lint particles. As everyone knows who has locks, lint collection is normal. Even after washing, you reintroduce some lint when you towel-dry your hair. My question: how to tell the difference between lint and eggs?

By: Cherie

Cherie — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 02:59:58 +0000

Hi Amanda!

Wow…thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us! I’m happy to hear you were able to save your locs. How mature are your locs? Have you ever considered brushing them to remove the leftover nit shells? Not sure if it’d work or not…just a thought!

Thank you again,

Cherie

By: Amanda

Amanda — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 23:51:54 +0000

I am a school nurse with locks and never thought this would happen to me either. I used the RID shampoo,3- 4 times in the span of a week. Concocted a jojoba,rosemary,peppermint, tea tree shampoo, bagged my whole head in straight vinegar for an hour, and had my sister pick through my hair 8 times. I am now lice free but religiously check my head and my children’s heads daily. Honestly I still see nits (shells from lice eggs) but they are so tiny and barely noticable. I am considering coloring my hair so that I can not see them anymore,I have a trained eye from all the “lice heads” I see at school. I’ve told myself should I be this unfortunate again I”mgoing to shave my head. This is a post I guess for folks who want to save their locks or for future reference. I’m not squimish though. HTHelped someone.

By: Cherie

Cherie — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:23:16 +0000

LOL…yes she does! Her hair has grown back beautifully. She had expressed not being ready to go back to locks as of yet, but we’ll see what happens!

By: CJ

CJ — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:52:05 +0000

I hope by now she has length enough to start a new set of locks!

By: Jacquie

Jacquie — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 20:43:01 +0000

I don’t blame you Cherie, I wouldn’t have been able to stand seeing those little critters in my child’s head either. Kudos to you, Shaneka. Ladies a mama’s got to do what a mama’s got to do.

By: Shaneka Moore

Shaneka Moore — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 21:39:54 +0000

I went through this with my son too. He was about 8 years old and it took 8 treatments and checking his head daily to pick out nits and any eggs I could see. His sheets and clothing needed to be washed separetly but boiled first. I used Lice MD and the hottest water my son could stand. I did not cut his hair, he begged and pleaded for me to not cut it. Diligence and patience won.